In general, a device to absorb impact for a vehicle is mounted on the front and the rear in the length direction of a vehicle to keep passengers safe by absorbing shock caused by a collision with a pedestrian, another vehicle, an object, or simultaneously, and to minimize deformation of the vehicle.
Referring to FIG. 1, a device to absorb impact for a vehicle of the related art includes a bumper beam 10 formed in a beam shape and disposed in the width direction on the front and the rear of a vehicle and crash boxes 30 to mount the bumper beam 10 on side members 20 extending in the length direction of the vehicle.
The side members 20 are connected with side reinforcing members 40 extending in the length direction of the vehicle and the side reinforcing members 40 are disposed further out in the width direction of the vehicle than the side members 20.
A dash panel 50, which extends in the width direction of the vehicle and divides the engine room and the interior of the vehicle, is disposed at the joints of the side members 20 and the side reinforcing members 40.
Further, tires 60 of wheels extend further out than the bumper beam 10 in the width direction of the vehicle in areas between the side reinforcing members 40 and the side members 20 in the width direction of the vehicle.
The bumper beam 10 and the crash boxes 30 serve to absorb and attenuate the impact that is applied during a frontal collision of the vehicle.
When the vehicle makes a 25% offset collision (hereafter, referred to as a small offset collision) with a struck object 70 such as a crash barrier in the front area, the struck object 70 could hit the outside areas between the side members 20 and side reinforcing members 40.
An appropriate structure or device for absorbing impact is not provided in the outside areas, such that if the struck object 70 directly hits the tires 60 of the wheels, and the collision keeps progressing, the struck object 70 and the tires 60 of the wheels would hit the dash panel 50 and the side reinforcing members 40, such that dash panel 50 and the side reinforcing members 40 are largely deformed. Accordingly, this can create a dangerous situation to passengers.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only to enhance the understanding of the background of the present disclosure and is not intended to mean that the present disclosure falls within the purview of the related art that is already known to those skilled in the art.